When buying used cars in Nigeria, the engine’s condition, the car body and the transmission are the parts that buyers should pay the most attention to. Sometimes, even the car drives well or looks clean doesn’t completely mean that it has no hidden problem with the engine and its maintenance as used by the previous owners.

The cost of repairing engine is not cheap at all. And it is obvious that a short test drive is not enough to check and evaluate the engine’s mechanical condition. That’s why we highly recommend that you have a qualified mechanic to check the used car before making the final deal. But it is not always easy to find such a mechanic, Naijauto.com will provide you some helpful tips to find out signs that the engine has issues or poor maintenance as inspecting a used car.

1. Check secondhand vehicle service records
Not all dealers have the service records which help you to know whether the car was maintained frequently or not. If you are provided with the service records, pay more attention to the car’s mileage records and oil change, helping you to verify if the car has oil changes frequently or not. Depending on the models, the advised interval between oil changes can be between 3,750 and 10,000 miles. If the car was driven longer than the recommended interval without changing oil, its engine might wear out inside.

For the car that comes equipped with a timing belt, look for any service record revealing the belt was replaced. Normally, this component should be replaced every between 60,000 and 100,000 miles, depending on the type of the car. If the timing belt was still the old one and you want to replace it, the cost you will have to pay is from N72 to N270.
2. Check under the hood
Always take a look at the car engine before having a test drive. A flashlight will be useful. Ensure that the engine is off, the parking brake is on and the transmission is at "Park". What you need to look for are smell of antifreeze or burnt oil, 'racing' modifications, leaks, signs of lack of regular maintenance or poor quality repairs.

If these parts look shiny and clean, it is not necessarily the case that they are well-maintained as the car sellers usually clean their cars’ engine before introducing them for buyers.

Below are some examples:

2.1. Signs of sloppy maintenance
If the car you intend to buy has a battery looks similar to this one, it seems that the vehicle didn’t have frequent maintenance.
2.2. Leaks
This car’s performance is quite good but at a closer inspection, you can see that the coolant is leaked here. As a result, this car’s radiator needs to be replaced by a new one but sometimes, a cracked radiator might lead to other more serious issues. So it is advised to not buy a used car having this kind of problems.
Also, check if the car has any oil leak. The oil leaks are not easy to spot from the above but a wise trick for you is looking underneath of the car with a flashlight. Inspect the transmission and the engine’s lower part. It should be dry like this vehicle. A little wetness might be acceptable but the leaks shouldn’t be there.
2.3. Smell of burnt oil under the hood
This is the engine of an Audi. It appears shiny and clean but as checked, it has a pungent smell of burnt oil, revealing potential problems.
2.4.Turn off the engine and inspect under the oil filler cap
This inspection can reveal much about the condition of car engine. In case you are not confident with this inspection, let your mechanic takes over it. Shut down the engine, open the oil cap and take a look at it.
Here is an example for you. In the left photo, there's a thick layer of black carbon accumulated under the oil filler cap. The oil cap and the parts inside the engine are also very dirty. Normally, it is a clear sign of lacking frequent maintenance. The photo in the right shows a good and clean oil cap.
2.5. Oil level is low
As checking this car, we realized that its oil level is very low and the oil also looks not clean. This discloses that this engine drinks oil or the latest time the oil of this car was changed was very long ago. Additionally, the engine will be worn faster if the oil is low. Typically, the oil level should be not too much lower than "Full" mark.
On the other hand, this car shows clean engine oil and its oil level is acceptable, which means the car oil has been changed lately.
2.6. Look for performance modifications
If a used car shows some performance modifications, pay more attention to it. If done properly, modifications can improve the car’s performance a lot. However, if the modifications are done poorly, it could bring the car a lot of problems, especially the original parts of the car is not available. If the vehicle has got some modifications, chances are it has been put in races or suffered other abuses.
2.7. “Check Engine” light remains on
Once the car was started, all of its warning lights on the dashboard should be off. For instance, in this vehicle, the “Check Engine” remains after the car’s start which means some faults of the engine. The problems are either minor, or consequential and cost much money to fix, it is hard to tell by average eye.
2.8. Various hidden problems can be disclosed by a cold start
Doing a cold start with the car is the best way to find out hidden problems with its engine. Therefore, it is recommended to come to the appointment with the dealer/seller a bit earlier than the planned time. The first thing that a cold start will disclose is the battery’s quality because if the battery is aged, it might require some boosts to start the vehicle. One more thing that it could also reveal is the noises of the engine. If the engine generates loud or annoying noise, or rattles, it might excessively wear out or has some mechanic issues. Similarly, if there is a blue smoke as the car starts, it means the car engine has worn out and it is highly recommended to look for an alternative.
2.9. Smoke from the exhausts
Look at the photo, you can see that this car generates a blue-gray smoke from its exhaust as running. And when doing the check, we feel a smell like burning oil. And the blue smoke shows that oil is being burned by the engine, these cars shouldn’t be bought.
2.10. Test drive
As doing the test, you should look for vibrations, engine noises or any other drivability problems. When the engine starts, it should run smoothly without hesitation or shaking. Especially, as the acceleration is done, the engine shouldn’t buck or stumble, if it does, there is an issue. It should be stable at the idle speed too. You should take a test drive as long as possible because sometimes, you can’t recognize problems just after a quick drive with the car. It is suggested to drive the vehicle in all modes: deceleration, acceleration, highway cruising, and stop-and-go traffic.

Also, take a look at the temperature of the engine showing on the dashboard. As soon as the car engine is warmed up, the temperature gauge should be around the middle of the scale.

Even if every part of the car looks good, we still advise you to have a professional look at it before purchasing.
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Not a bad write up at all

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Not a bad write up at all

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